Roque: Duterte to announce NCR COVID-19 quarantine classification on Friday, Aug. 20, 2021

President Duterte will announce quarantine classification for Metro Manila on Friday, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said Thursday.

Roque said this is because the President is expected to address the nation on August 20, the same day the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) protocol in Metro Manila expires.

Under the ECQ protocol, only essential trips and essential services such as food and medicine are allowed to operate.

“We expect the President to make the announcement on Friday, unless he gives authorization to announce it earlier,” Roque said.

“It is just down to two scenarios: ECQ or MECQ. This is our third ECQ in Metro Manila, and we have seen before that COVID-19 cases do not immediately go down right after ECQ. The cycle of of transmission is 14 days,” he added.

Compared with ECQ, modified ECQ partly allows other industries to operate but  public transportation remain limited.

Likewise, Roque said health care utilization rate in Metro Manila is at moderate risk level at around 60%.

“As of now, the numbers are encouraging, and we hope we can sustain it,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) is considering to recommend the ECQ extension or shifting the region under MECQ.

“Ang choice natin puwedeng i-retain ang ECQ for another week or until the end of the month or puwedeng baba tayo sa MECQ para makapagbukas yung ibang negosyo,” Año said.

(Our options are either retaining ECQ for another week or until the end of the month or downgrading to MECQ so that other businesses could open up.)  — RSJ, GMA News